The World Without Us

From five minutes to five billion years: an astonishing vision of Earth without humans

Picture a world from which we all suddenly disappeared. Tomorrow. Noted journalist and professor Alan Weisman does just this in a book that is a tour de force of investigative writing and unputdownable reading.The World Without Us examines what would happen in both the immediate and distant future to the land, the animals (guess what? cockroaches would not survive for long), the oceans, our cities, our art and all manner of things we take for granted. Would the seas again teem with fish? Would our concrete jungles crumble into natural ones? How long, if ever, would it take for our collective footprint to fade away?

Examining the minute, fascinating details of how things deteriorate (or don’t), Alan Weisman describes how seemingly indestructible pipes will be pulverized into rock, why some of our churches may be the last buildings standing and how plastic may be one of our “gifts” that keeps on giving. Much more than a physical cataloguing, however,The World Without Us takes us into places we’ve abandoned, including Chernobyl, the Korean DMZ and an ancient Polish forest, to see how they’ve fared since we left. He talks to numerous scientists, engineers, ecologists, biologists and architects to get a realistic view of our impact on this planet. And he asks, since we’re imagining, why not think of a way for nature to prosper that doesn’t depend on our demise?

At a time when we are seriously examining our impact on the earth, The World Without Us is essential reading. With its irresistible premise, intelligent mix of disciplines and candid tone, this mesmerizing book is a provocative and timely future classic.

Opinion

From the critics

Community Activity

Comment

Science writer Weisman explores the idle scenario of how the Earth would recover if humans abruptly disappeared. It's an impossibly huge subject, so he winds up highlighting various fascinating but disjointed subjects without bringing together a consistent scenario. Some sections chart the collapse of our buildings, the Panama Canal, our oil refineries, and our art media. Others profile various effects humans have had on the environment, from megafaunal extinctions to invasive species and the abraded plastic particles clogging the ocean. Most interesting are the portraits of the surprisingly swift natural recovery observed in demilitarized zones in Cyprus and Korea, and around Chernobyl.

Weisman posits what would happen to the world if human beings suddenly disappeared on a planet that would otherwise be left intact. Animals would generally be much happier though, with the exception of housecats, most of our domesticated animals wouldn't make it. This very readable book investigates in vivid, research-backed detail how durable cockroaches, subways, architecture, plastic, our toxic wastes, and fine arts will be in a world without us. You will never look at plastic the same way again. — Kim P., Southdale Library

Very interesting! Written in laymans terms. Brings the world alive! This should be a required reading in school science. It tells of places around the world that have been devastated and how it will slowly be absorbed back into wild flora and fauna. Ecology has been a passion of mine since I was a child and there are places in this book I haven't heard of before. I hope there is a second installment.

This nonfiction book asks the intriguing question, what if we all disappeared today, but left the rest of the earth intact? What would happen as our nuclear power plants fail, as our subways flood, and as plants and wildlife take our cities back? It's not exactly a dystopia, but it is marvelously thought-provoking.

The author describes how our earth would react if we humans somehow magically just disappeared. It's honestly a very optimistic view of the earth renewing and healing itself and it's not fantasy, or fiction, it's science-based reality. I found it a relief to understand how plants and animals would rebound.

100101_2827637
Apr 10, 2012

This is an excellent book for this topic: What would happen if we all just left earth one day? What would happen to our houses and bridges? Would the oceans recover and fill once more with fish? Is it still too late for many species? However, this book is not for those who think that humans have not negatively affected the earth. I got this book to read over spring break, and boy, I am sure glad I did. While this book may be a bit long and too complex for many young readers (mostly tweens or early teens) it still is worth the time for older readers or those who have ever wondered about this topic!

I went into this book expecting (hoping) for something a little more uplifting. However, sometimes the truth hurts, and this well researched book had some sad truths to tell. The initial chapters tell of how the cities and their infrastructure will return to nature, but the rest of the book is somewhat darker. It reveals an uncertain future for our planet, even if we do pack it in right now, and take all of our nuclear plants with us. A good book.

_The World Without Us_ provides an interesting counterpoint to other enviro-conscious works of non-fiction. Like Gwynne Dyer's _Climate Wars_, _The World Without Us_ draws on facts and research to create scenarios that illustrate the effect we humans are having on our environment as a species.

More introspective and less thoroughly grim than _Climate Wars_, this book's scenarios all revolve around one unifying question: If we all disappeared - today, tomorrow, or slowly in an agonizing die-off - what would become of the beautiful world we leave behind? Would it recover from our insults, or would our most destructive technologies' decomposition make life impossible?

Weisman has done his research, and filled in the unknowns with rich imagination, fine writing, and an eye to current developments. This book's gently delivered message sinks in deep, and leaves you both sad and hopeful.